Yesterday's hike was a mix old road hike and bushwhack into the northern edge of the Shaker Mountain Wild Forest. The ultimate goal after parking on East Stoner Lake, was to follow the old road into a hunting camp site and then bushwhack up the outlet (Whitman Flow) to Eastman Lake.
The woods were extremely wet after over 2" of rain the night before and the old road had some muddy spots. Fortunately, we found a dry side trail that climbed above the rushing inlet of E. Stoner Lake. We followed that trail until it met with the old road just shy of Hidden Vly.
After some searching, we found the path that headed from Hidden Vly to the hunter's camp site on Whitman Flow. A few cautious stream crossings prior to our arrival at the old hunting camp site convinced us we didn't want to try to hop the rain swollen Whitman Flow.
The bushwhack began easy enough as we headed up the west side of Whitman Flow on a small hunter's trail. Soon enough the trail died out and we were pushing through some pretty thick witch hobble. Although the blooms were beautiful they only mildly distracted us from the tough going through the thick brush. A highlight of this section of the walk were some absolutely huge maples, hemlocks and glacial erratics.
Soon, we arrived at the base of several cascading waterfalls that tumbled over the high plateau Eastman Lake sits on. Dubbing them "Witch Hobble" Falls, in honor of the brush we endured getting to see this wonderful sight. In another few hundred yards we hit the shores of Eastman Lake.
The lake was absolutely gorgeous with plenty of rocky areas and beaver activity to keep us focused. We found a rocky point just at the north end of the main basin to have lunch and dry out a little. The cool breeze kept the few bugs away while we snacked and explored. Two sea gulls put on an air show for us as they were none too happy with our presence on "their" lake.
Too soon it was time to head back down the hill. The woods were absolutely beautiful in the mid afternoon sun and everything seemed alive. Including the black flies, who soon found us and started buzzing around. They weren't that big of a deal as it was still cool and a good breeze was blowing through the trees. Not a bad day in the woods; the boots will dry out and the memories will last.
The woods were extremely wet after over 2" of rain the night before and the old road had some muddy spots. Fortunately, we found a dry side trail that climbed above the rushing inlet of E. Stoner Lake. We followed that trail until it met with the old road just shy of Hidden Vly.
After some searching, we found the path that headed from Hidden Vly to the hunter's camp site on Whitman Flow. A few cautious stream crossings prior to our arrival at the old hunting camp site convinced us we didn't want to try to hop the rain swollen Whitman Flow.
The bushwhack began easy enough as we headed up the west side of Whitman Flow on a small hunter's trail. Soon enough the trail died out and we were pushing through some pretty thick witch hobble. Although the blooms were beautiful they only mildly distracted us from the tough going through the thick brush. A highlight of this section of the walk were some absolutely huge maples, hemlocks and glacial erratics.
Soon, we arrived at the base of several cascading waterfalls that tumbled over the high plateau Eastman Lake sits on. Dubbing them "Witch Hobble" Falls, in honor of the brush we endured getting to see this wonderful sight. In another few hundred yards we hit the shores of Eastman Lake.
The lake was absolutely gorgeous with plenty of rocky areas and beaver activity to keep us focused. We found a rocky point just at the north end of the main basin to have lunch and dry out a little. The cool breeze kept the few bugs away while we snacked and explored. Two sea gulls put on an air show for us as they were none too happy with our presence on "their" lake.
Too soon it was time to head back down the hill. The woods were absolutely beautiful in the mid afternoon sun and everything seemed alive. Including the black flies, who soon found us and started buzzing around. They weren't that big of a deal as it was still cool and a good breeze was blowing through the trees. Not a bad day in the woods; the boots will dry out and the memories will last.
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